System and Method of Providing Social Caller ID and Caller Rating on Web Calls

Abstract

A method is provided for providing caller ID for a caller. An indication is received from a social networking site on which a caller has a profile that the caller has signed into the social networking site. A request is received from the caller to place a call to a callee. The system automatically associates at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site with the call request. The system then signals to the callee that there is a new call by displaying the call request with the at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site. A method is also provided for enhancing a callee's control over receiving a call. A method is also provided for facilitating web calling by a caller.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of providing caller ID for a caller, comprising:
 receiving an indication from a social networking site on which a caller has a profile that the caller has signed into the social networking site;   receiving a request from the caller to place a call to a callee;   automatically associating at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site with the call request; and   signalling to the callee that there is a new call by displaying the call request with the at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one aspect of the caller's profile is accessed from the social networking site directly. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one aspect of the caller's profile is accessed from a local database. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the request is triggered by selection of the callee from the social networking site. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising enabling the caller to search for the callee on the social networking site prior to making the request. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one aspect of the caller's profile is an image or a photo associated with the caller. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one aspect of the caller's profile is a name, username, nickname, or alias of the caller. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising allowing the caller to leave a message for the callee, and providing a notifier to the callee that there is a message waiting, the notifier including the at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a missed call notifier to the callee if the call is not picked up by the callee, the missed call notifier including the at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising allowing the callee to rate the caller with a rating after the call. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the rating is stored in association with the caller's profile. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the rating is compiled with other ratings of that caller from other callees to form an aggregate rating. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the aggregate rating is displayed with future call requests from that caller. 
     
     
         14 . A method of enhancing a callee's control over receiving a call, comprising:
 providing an interface by which a callee can set at least one rule to designate certain individuals or categories of individuals from whom the callee wishes to receive a call, the designated individuals or categories being based on the callee's contacts in a social networking site;   when a request is received from a caller to place a call to the callee, automatically determining whether the caller is one of the designated individuals or in one of the designated categories; and   permitting the call to be connected if the caller is one of the designated individuals or in one of the designated categories, wherein the call is identified to the callee by displaying at least one aspect of the caller's profile from the social networking site.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the category is a minimum aggregate rating of a caller. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one rule is time- or date-dependent. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the call is routed to a specific device associated with the callee based on the at least one rule. 
     
     
         18 . A method of facilitating web calling by a caller, comprising:
 providing an interface whereby a callee can associate at least one aspect of the callee's profile from a social networking site with the callee's phone number or calling address;   creating a link for the callee, the appearance of which includes the at least one aspect of the callee's profile; and   enabling the callee to paste or embed the link into an email or a web page, such that actuation of the link by a caller initiates a web call to the callee's phone number or calling address.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the link is a web-accessible link. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the link is stored with the callee's profile. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the link is updated automatically as the callee's profile on the social networking site is updated. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising enabling the callee to provide a photo or acquiring a photo of the callee for association with the callee's phone number or calling address. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the web call is a voice or video call over WebRTC.